Australian governments and mining houses need to do more to prepare for the current resources boom lasting for 15-30 years, according to Professor Robin Batterham, President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) and former Australian Chief Scientist. Professor Batterham is also the Group Chief Scientist of Rio Tinto.

“We are enjoying a once-in-a-generation or once-in-a-century resources boom,” says Prof Batterham.

“This unprecedented and sustained boom dominates the Australian economy and shapes government revenues and policies at Federal and State levels, particularly in ‘resources’ states such as WA, Queensland, SA and NT.”

“All the indicators are that the demand for minerals from the roaring economies of China and India will be sustained for a generation, unless truncated by political upheaval or natural disaster.”

“We have to plan for demand to be sustained but also for the fact that at some point the boom will end. This elicits a huge raft of questions that should be exercising the best minds in the country.”

“The mining industry will need to confront environment issues within a much lower emission world.”

“The industry needs to consider whether it should use some of the cash flow from the current boom to finance commercial-sized plants in major new technologies, such as clean coal, geothermal and nuclear, and use the earnings to get the costs down.”

“As many of our principal ore bodies are being depleted or showing declining ore grades, we need to get the exploration-development equation right or face a long-term decline in the size, influence and revenue of the minerals industry, which will hurt our economy and standard of living.”

“A principal impediment to Australia’s future success is our ability to undertake effective long-term planning.”

“Other impediments include the competing interests at various levels of government, our tendency to plan piecemeal and our short economic and social timeframe predicated on the electoral cycle.”

“We must drive for increased investment in education, a greater focus on science and technology, greater risk-taking in R&D, a narrower focus on what we do best and a national understanding of and commitment to long-term, over-the-horizon planning in the interests of the whole nation.”